Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Sells 104,197 Shares of AeroVironment, Inc. $AVAV

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC reduced its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 20.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 412,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 104,197 shares during the period. AeroVironment accounts for 1.3% of Stephens Investment Management Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $99,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 7.8% during the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 498 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Legacy Bridge LLC boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 4,046 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $979,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 3,709 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $897,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 100.0% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in AeroVironment by 72.1% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 105 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen F. Page sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.29, for a total transaction of $49,322.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 49,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,766,052.29. This represents a 0.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Brian Charles Shackley sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total transaction of $42,504.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,794 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,340.88. This trade represents a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 2,096 shares of company stock valued at $505,103 over the last three months. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AVAV. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $325.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $259.00 to $236.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of AeroVironment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of AeroVironment from $390.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of AeroVironment from $389.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.78.

AeroVironment Price Performance

AVAV opened at $158.00 on Friday. AeroVironment, Inc. has a one year low of $156.00 and a one year high of $417.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 5.51 and a quick ratio of 4.54. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $255.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.35.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The aerospace company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). AeroVironment had a negative net margin of 13.93% and a positive return on equity of 3.26%. The company had revenue of $408.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $487.94 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. AeroVironment’s revenue for the quarter was up 143.4% compared to the same quarter last year. AeroVironment has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.750-3.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AeroVironment Profile

AeroVironment, Inc (NASDAQ:AVAV) is a technology company specializing in unmanned aerial systems (UAS), tactical missiles and precision loitering munitions, electric vehicle charging and scalable energy systems. Headquartered in Monrovia, California, the company develops solutions for defense, public safety and commercial markets. Their offerings include small UAS for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as advanced weapons systems designed to meet the needs of modern military operations.

The company’s unmanned aerial systems portfolio features platforms such as the Raven, Puma and Switchblade series, which are deployed by the U.S.